Will the Digital Services Act play its expected role of “democratic shield” 40 days before the European elections? Brussels is in any case increasing the pressure. After X (formerly Twitter), TikTok and Alibaba, it is Meta’s turn to be the subject of an investigation by Brussels for non-compliance with this law aimed at regulating and cleaning up online life. The European Commission, which officially launched the procedure on Tuesday April 30, suspects Facebook and Instagram of not respecting their obligations in the fight against disinformation.
“This Commission has put in place tools to protect European citizens from disinformation and manipulation by third countries”underlined President Ursula von der Leyen, in a press release which recalls that Facebook and Instagram bring together 250 million monthly active users in Europe. “If we suspect a violation of the rules, we take action. This is always true, but especially during elections. »
This survey is precisely a good way to assess the effectiveness of the Digital Services Act, one of the major challenges of which is the fight against disinformation. If Meta does not make changes or provide evidence showing that it complies with European rules, it faces a fine of up to 6% of turnover. Depending on the seriousness of the infringements, Brussels can also force Meta to leave the European market, but it is unlikely that the procedure will go that far, believes Jeans–Remi de Maistre, co-founder and CEO of legal tech Jus Mundi and expert in international arbitration issues.
“We can clearly see here the difference in method between the European Union and the United States,” he observes. In the United States, it is much more radical: TikTok is suspected of being a tool of Chinese interference, the app is threatened with disappearing in the country. The Commission is not deleting Meta, but it is pushing for changes to the platform.”
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“Prevent Instagram and Facebook vulnerabilities from being used by foreign influence actors”
Brussels criticizes the American firm for being lax in moderating political advertisements. “We are opening this case against Meta to ensure that effective actions are taken to prevent Instagram and Facebook vulnerabilities from being used by foreign influencers”explained in a press release, the European Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton.
Some Brussels officials are directly referring to campaigns coming from the Kremlin, which could work in favor of pro-Russian candidates.
The removal of a key tool for fact-checkers and researchers
Furthermore, the EU points out the way in which Facebook and Instagram make certain political content invisible (shadow banning) without warning users, a practice contrary to the principle of transparency of the DSA. Also in the viewfinder: the mechanisms for reporting illegal content, which would not be visible enough. Finally, the European Commission criticizes Meta for removing its CrowdTangle tool. However, this is key in the fight against disinformation. It allows researchers and journalists to monitor the virality of a publication, and therefore the dissemination of fake news on Facebook and Instagram. From August 14, it will no longer be available. Meta claims that its Meta Content Library and the Meta Content Library API will have the same functions, but researchers doubt this.
The Commission therefore asks Meta to assess the consequences of removing this tool and to provide the information within 5 working days. “The Commission has reserved the right to take measures if these actions are deemed insufficient”specifies the press release.
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The first real test of the effectiveness of DSA
The Brussels investigation comes a few days after the publication of a report by the NGO AI Forensics. This showed that the majority of political advertisements circulating on Meta platforms were not identified as such. And less than 5% of this political content was properly moderated. Facebook notably allowed a pro-Russian disinformation campaign targeting European farmers to proliferate, inciting them to oppose Ukraine’s entry into Europe. AI Forensics also shows that the Russian disinformation operation Doppelganger (propaganda stories spread via sites copying real media) has a reach 5 to 10 times greater than Meta suggests.
In its report, the NGO called on the European Commission to launch an investigation. She seems to have been heard. Its director Marc Faddoul welcomes this in a press release. “This action is a pivotal point in the EU’s fight against disinformation. This shows that the EU is stepping up to manage this information crisis. On the eve of the European elections, this is the first real test of the effectiveness of the DSA, in particular against foreign manipulation operations”. Raziye Buse Çetin, communications director of the NGO, believes that the investigation is one thing, but it will not be enough. “Meta must implement lasting algorithmic changes and strengthen content moderation to combat misinformation. »
Beyond this report, “the European Union also certainly sees what is happening in India, which is in the period of a legislative election, and where we are seeing cases of mass disinformation, particularly produced at lower cost thanks to communication tools. AI”, adds Jean-Rémi de Maistre. What “raise the pressure”.
Meta has not directly commented on the proceedings. “We have a well-established process for identifying and mitigating risks on our platforms. We look forward to continuing our cooperation with the European Commission and providing them with further details on this work”reacted a spokesperson to AFP.
